Sanctuary
by Above the Winter Moonlight
Summary: AU. When his secret is revealed to his parents, Danny Fenton is forced to run for his life and finds sanctuary in the less likely of places. Meanwhile, Jazz, Sam and Tucker struggle to find a way to convince the Fentons of the truth about the ghost boy they both thought was evil. However, even if the truth comes to light, can forgiveness truly be given? CH. 5 posted
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note: **I know this idea has been used before but I couldn't help but do my own story with this idea. I hope to make it as original as possible and I'm sorry if Jack and Maddie seem a little OOC. I tried to work this story out without changing their personalities but I don't know if it worked. This is set after_ Eye for an Eye_ just because I think it's different from when these types of stories are normally set. I hope that you like my newest _Danny Phantom _fic (and yes I will still work on _Lend Me Your Advice _and _Paternal Instincts_) and reviews are much appreciated.

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Danny Phantom, I never have and I never will (if I did then there would have been more episodes) and I am only saying this once so I will not repeat it in later chapters._

**Sanctuary**

**Chapter One**

Danny crashed into the building having been propelled toward it so quickly that he hadn't had time to go intangible and he fell to the ground before pushing himself to his feet. Glowing neon green eyes glared furiously at the culprit as he flew into the air dodging around the cable that shot out toward him. "Really? Is that the best you got?" he called over to the technological ghost who scowled.

"I have more in store for you, ghost boy, for I, Technus, shall…" The ghost, who looked like a scientist with a lab coat but had glowing red eyes and white hair, started to say.

"Bore us to death with your long-winded speeches," Danny finished for him with a sigh and launched an ectoblast that caught Technus in the chest and sent him flying backwards. He launched several ectodisks at the ghost who got hit with a few of them but managed to dodge the rest.

"Sam, Tucker, Jazz, where are you?" he said through the Fenton Phones that he shared with his two best friends and his sister. When Technus launched an ectoblast at him, Danny spread his fingers in front of him creating a shield that caught the blast. Dropping the shield, Danny launched a few more ectodisks as well as an ectoblast at Technus.

"_We're coming, Danny. Jazz is trying to distract your parents,_" Sam's voice said through the Fenton Phones.

"_It's not working that great,_" Tucker's voice said, "_They're heading over here now. Best bet is to finish this fight and get out of here before your parents see you._"

Danny grimaced knowing his friend was right. Ever since the accident almost a year earlier, Danny had been forced to keep his ghost powers a secret from his parents. He only did that because he didn't know of how his parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, would react. They were ghost hunters and they hated ghosts with a passion. Danny liked to believe that his parents would accept him, both his human and ghost half alike, but he just didn't know.

His parents have been hunting him since he first started using his powers to protect Amity Park from the many ghosts that invaded from the Fenton Ghost Portal that could not be turned off even though it could be closed. They didn't seem to believe that he was trying to protect everyone. They weren't the only ones but Danny liked to think they would see the truth eventually.

He dodged around another ectoblast and launched his own back at Technus. The technology ghost dodged and turned his head slightly. "Looks like we have some company," he said as the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle, with Jack at the wheel, drove toward the park above which the halfa and the technology ghost were fighting. "I, Technus, shall use the technology on that vehicle to…"

"Dude, I thought you stopped speaking your plan out loud," Danny said flying toward Technus and landed a sharp uppercut that sent Technus flying upwards. The technology ghost scowled and flew toward Danny who dodged out of the way and hit Technus with a kick.

An ectoblast that narrowly missed Danny shot through the air and slammed into Technus. Glancing over his shoulder, Danny noticed that it had come from his family's RV and he was pretty sure his mother had been the one to fire it since she had better aim than his father. He dodged around an ectoblast and looked around for his friends to find them stopping their scooters nearby and dashing into the park.

Technus launched another attack that Danny dodged but he didn't avoid the technology ghost's follow up attack and was sent flying into the tree near where Sam and Tucker had stopped. With a grunt, he went intangible and sank through the branches of the tree to land on his feet beside Sam and Tucker.

"Think you might need this," Tucker said holding out the Fenton Thermos and Danny smiled before taking it. Flying into the air, he was about to aim the thermos and capture Technus when an ectoblast from a bazooka his mother was holding hit him. With a yelp, he dropped the thermos and was sent flying through several more trees to crash into one of the benches that lay scattered across the park.

"He's down, get him Jack before he gets away," Maddie shouted.

Technus jumped at the opportunity he was given and, just as Danny was getting to his feet, the technology ghost launched a bolt of blue electricity that slammed into the halfa. A screech of pain erupted from Danny's lips as the electricity surged through his body, zapping his strength and the energy that kept him in his ghost form.

Sam dashed forward just before Danny lost consciousness and he was able to stay conscious long enough to see his friend uncap the thermos he had dropped before there was darkness.

* * *

Sam capped the thermos before dashing over to her friend's side as Danny toppled to the ground. Tucker was just behind her but Sam could see that Jazz was attempting to stop her parents who were also dashing in the direction of Danny's prone form. She, thankful the park was empty because of how late it was, skidded to a halt beside her friend and knelt down watching as the white rings of energy appeared and separated going to his head and his toes and reverting him back to his human form.

A gasp of shock sounded and Sam and Tucker, who had just reached her side, turned before their eyes widened when they saw that Jack and Maddie were standing a few yards away but also in full view of Danny's transformation. Jazz stood at their side eyes wide with guilt as if she felt she was at fault because she couldn't stop her parents from reaching Danny.

"Our son…that's not…humans can't…" Maddie broke off unable to form a coherent sentence as she stared at the scene before her. Jack was stunned into silence as he also gazed at Danny's prone body but his jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed and Sam found she didn't like the look in Jack's eyes.

Sam turned her gaze to Danny's body before she stretched out a hand to check her friend's pulse. She knew that the ghost stinger would only drain enough energy from Danny to revert him back to his human form, Danny had told her that, but she just wanted to be sure. She wasn't surprised to feel the pulse but she was a little relieved.

She looked at Jazz as the older girl walked over to join her and was surprised to see Maddie and Jack had disappeared. Jazz shook her head though there was guilt in her eyes. "I tried to stop them," she said. "But…"

"It's all right, Jazz," Sam said. "It wasn't your fault. Where did they go?"

"They said they were heading home. They didn't say anything after that. What are we going to tell Danny?"

"We have to tell him the truth."

"Guys, he's waking up," Tucker said and the two girls turned to look at Danny who stirred before blinking open blue eyes. He gazed around as he sat up before wincing.

"Ow, I've always hated getting hit with ghost stingers," he said with a grimace before he looked at his two friends and his sister who were kneeling at his side. Sam smiled a little at her friend though Danny seemed to have noticed something was off.

"Something happened, didn't it?" he asked.

Sam bit her lip but she had told Jazz that Danny needed to know the truth. "They saw you transform, Danny," she said, "your parents."

Danny paled eyes widening.

"I'm sorry Danny," Jazz said the guilt that was in her eyes was more profound in her voice despite Sam trying to reassure her that it wasn't her fault. "I tried to stop them when you fell but…"

Danny sighed and rested a hand on Jazz's arm. "It's all right, Jazz. It wasn't your fault."

"Sam said the same thing but…"

"Jazz, we all know how Mom and Dad get. I doubt anything could have stopped them. How did they take it?"

"I don't know," Jazz said. "They just said they were heading home and left."

Danny grimaced. "I should have told them from the very beginning," he said.

"You know why you didn't, Danny. We didn't know how they would react if they knew," said Sam.

"It was safer to keep it secret, dude," Tucker said.

"Now that they know though, what am I going to do?" Danny asked.

"I think the only thing we can do is go home and you can explain what happened to them," Jazz said as Sam helped her friend get to her feet and Tucker stood up.

"I hope they'll listen," Danny said softy and Sam found that she hoped so too.

* * *

Vlad Masters, in his ghost form and invisible, watched unobtrusively as Daniel and his friends and sister left the park. He shook his head at what happened; he had seen the cold hatred in the blubbering buffoon Jack's eyes when the idiot saw his son's transformation. Maddie, the dear woman he loved, also had cold eyes that took him by surprise. He would have expected that if anyone were to accept Daniel's ghost half then it would be her.

Vlad thought back to the reunion when Daniel had told him that his parents would accept him if he revealed himself to them. However, just the reaction of Daniel's parents when he transformed made Vlad doubt the boy's assertion. The boy obviously thought his parents' love for him would outweigh their hatred of ghosts and yet their reaction said the exact opposite.

Vlad floated over the city watching as Daniel and his friends and sister continued to make their way to FentonWorks. Despite how he and Daniel had treated each other recently, with the pranks that led to the destruction of Vlad's mansion back in Wisconsin and him becoming mayor of Amity Park and making Daniel's life miserable with his rules, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that Daniel belonged with him.

They were the only half-ghosts in existence. No one could understand Daniel's position better than Vlad; he had been half-ghost for twenty years and Daniel barely had a year's experience. Vlad had offered to give him all the training he needed, all the knowledge that Vlad had acquired over the years, all he had to do was renounce his father, and Daniel continuously spurned his offer.

That was what really caused the conflict between the two of them. Vlad didn't like to see himself as the boy's enemy and yet that was how he acted, especially after he became mayor. He just tested the boy and trained him indirectly whenever they fought. Recently, however, the pranks between the two of them had escalated further than Vlad had wanted; he just wanted to give Daniel a taste of his own medicine and went overboard.

Still, being mayor of Amity Park would allow him to keep an eye on Daniel and continue to test him and train him indirectly. He wasn't about to give up in his fight to get what he wanted, it was one of the reasons why he tried to clone Daniel and that didn't work, even though he was starting to rethink convincing Maddie to marry him. If she had reacted that way to discovering her own son was half-ghost then how would she react to Vlad? There was also the fact that Vlad had no idea of what Maddie would do to Daniel.

If there was a choice between Maddie and Daniel, Vlad found that he would choose Daniel. Daniel was like him after all and he understood him possibly better than the boy understood himself.

Vlad stopped following the four companions when they reached FentonWorks before he teleported back to his mansion. Floating out of his study, where he had appeared, Vlad made his way to his living room and sat down. Maddie the Cat was fast asleep curled up on her bed and Vlad briefly looked at her before making sure she had food and water.

He then sat down on the couch and switched the TV on. He knew that the best way to discover what Maddie and the idiot Jack would do to Daniel now that they knew the truth without triggering Daniel's ghost sense would be to use the spy cams he had in place all over FentonWorks. It was ridiculously easy getting the cams into place.

Switching to the channel, Vlad narrowed his eyes and watched.

* * *

Danny nervously entered the living room. His parents were sitting on the couch talking with each other and they didn't seem to have noticed the four newcomers in the room. At least, for the moment they didn't though a few moments later, they looked up and their eyes narrowed. "Sam, Tucker, I think you'd better leave," Maddie said.

"We're staying with Danny," Sam said firmly placing a hand on Danny's shoulder while Tucker nodded in agreement.

"It's getting late and this is a family matter," Jack said. "Now leave."

"Danny's family to me and I won't leave him," Tucker said. Danny smiled a little at his friends' loyalty though his parents looked angry.

"How can you think that ghost scum is like family to you? He's an evil waste of ectoplasm," Jack said furiously and Danny flinched a little; it was obvious his father didn't accept him. Looking hopefully toward his mother, Danny was surprised to see the coldness in her eyes.

"How dare you?" she demanded furiously. "How dare you, for all this time, make us believe that our son was still alive? How dare you use our family as your hideout while you wreaked havoc on the city?"

"Danny doesn't wreak havoc, he saves the city," Sam protested while Danny flinched as well stunned that his mother could accuse him of such things. He thought that if anyone would accept him then it would be his mother.

"Likely story. He's a ghost and all ghosts are evil," Maddie said coolly.

"Mom, no they aren't," Jazz protested.

"You knew? You knew all along about this…abomination?"

"He isn't an abomination, Mom. He's only half-ghost and his human half is stronger than his ghost half," Jazz protested.

"It's not possible to be half-ghost," Maddie interrupted.

"He has a pulse and he breathes like a human. No ghost has a pulse or breathes and Danny does," Jazz said. "Just see for yourself."

"I'm not touching him." Maddie pointed the wrist ray she had strapped around her wrist at Danny.

"Could you really shoot your own son?" Jazz shouted.

Danny was stunned into silence at his mother's actions that he was barely aware of what was happening. He could see that his mother had a weapon pointed at him and that his father was lifting one of his ectoguns into his hand and aiming it at him. However, he found that he couldn't move.

He had thought that his parents would accept him; he told Vlad that much during the reunion six months earlier and yet their actions clearly state that they didn't accept him. He thought for sure that their love for him would outweigh their hatred of ghost but that wasn't true.

"That abomination isn't my son," Maddie said and fired the wrist ray but Sam pulled Danny out of harm's way and the ectoblast slammed into the door behind them. Jack fired his weapon but his aim was terrible and it sailed over Danny's head to crash into the wall above the door.

Danny was still in shock; his parents were trying to kill him even after they knew he was their son. Sam pulled him out of the way of another ectoblast while Jazz dashed forward and put herself in front of Danny shielding him from their parents' attacks with her own body.

"Get out of the way, Jasmine," Maddie ordered.

"No, I won't let you hurt my brother," Jazz said. "How could you do this to your own son?"

"That abomination is no son of mine and he is no longer your brother." Maddie and Jack aimed their weapons again but Sam pulled Danny's arm.

"Danny, you have to get out of here," she said to him. "Go to my house and hide out in my room."

Danny gazed at his friend before nodding. Reaching into himself, he unlocked his ghost half and transformed. The brilliant rings of white light appeared and separated like a spring transforming Danny into his superhero alter ego. Without waiting, Danny launched himself into the air and, turning intangible to avoid the ectoblasts that flew at him, he phased through the wall and flew rapidly toward Sam's house still in shock over the events that had transpired.

* * *

Vlad was shocked to the core because of two facts he learned while illegally spying on the Fentons; the fact that Maddie, dear sweet Maddie, had actually called her own son an abomination and the fact that both Maddie and Jack had fired their weapons at their son. Daniel looked in shock; if not for Samantha's quick intervention, Daniel would have been hit.

_How could you do that to your own son, Maddie? Where is the sweet, kind, intelligent woman I fell in love with?_ He thought watching as Samantha told Daniel to hide out in her house for the time being.

As he was sure Maddie and Jack had overheard that, he didn't know what they would do but he feared the worse.

"Jack, the ghost is heading to the Mansons. Let's go," Maddie said on the screen. "And this time, we are not crashing through their wall. Once we tell Sam's parents that they are harboring a ghost in their house, I am sure they will be more than happy to let us in."

"You can't do that. Danny hasn't done anything wrong," Sam shouted.

"He is an evil ghost," Jack said as if that explained everything.

Vlad's lips thinned. He knew Jack was a moron but he didn't think even Jack Fenton's hatred of ghosts would outshine his love for his son. The same could be said for Maddie though he didn't think of Maddie as a moron even if he did wonder how he could love someone who would actually try to kill her own son just because he was half-ghost.

Maddie the Cat leapt onto the armrest of the couch and Vlad looked at her. "I'm thinking of changing your name now," he said stretching out a hand and gently petting the cat before he looked back at the screen. "But what should I do about Daniel? Can I really just leave him at the mercy of his parents after what happened? But he would probably reject my offer of help if I did offer it. Maybe I don't have to offer him help, per say, but I could offer him a place to escape his parents; a sanctuary perhaps."

A sly smile crossed Vlad's lips as he scratched his cat's ears causing her to purr. "Perhaps this could work to my advantage after all," he murmured before he stood up and transformed into his ghost half.

Flying intangibly through the wall, Vlad made his way toward the Mansons' home. Talking with Daniel was going to be the hardest part of the mission but Vlad hoped that Daniel would be willing to talk first and shoot later. Considering what Daniel has just gone through, though, Vlad wouldn't be surprised if he was in a shoot first and ask questions later mood.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: this is set after **_**Eye for an Eye**_** as I mentioned earlier but I do see Vlad as someone who would not give up on getting what he wanted no matter how hostile things were between him and Danny**

**Darth: and if you don't like that, tough**

**Blaze: don't be rude, Dad**

**Darth: sorry**

**Freakshow: hi**

**Blaze: (ignites lightsaber and pulls out flaming machete)**

**Freakshow: bye (takes off)**

**Blaze: I hope I did a good job though it was tough getting what I wanted to happen in this story happen and still adhere at least somewhat to Maddie and Jack's personalities. If I epically failed at that, please do not flame me.**

**Darth: PLEASE DO NOT FLAME HER!**

**Blaze: I'm sure they would have gotten the point without you screaming it at them**

**Freakshow: (is being chased by a dragon) get this dragon away from me!**

**Blaze: good job Dora**

**Dora: thank you (shoots flames at Freakshow)**

**Freakshow: Lidia! Help!**

**Lidia: (starts forward)**

**Blaze: (lifts up lightsaber and flaming machete that could hurt ghosts)**

**Lidia: you're on your own (teleports away)**

**Blaze: whoops, long author's note. Please review and I will post chapter 2 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it will be anytime soon maybe sometime next week (for my **_**Star Wars**_** fans, I will try to update **_**Here I Go Again**_** sometime next week too but I make no promises)**


	2. Chapter Two

**Thank you to the 9 people who review the last chapter. Wow, nine people. Nice! You are the greatest and here is chapter two. I hope that you like it and reviews are much appreciated.**

**Chapter Two**

Danny admitted he was weak by the time he reached the Mansons. He knew he was still suffering from the aftereffects of Technus's ghost stinger but he managed to phase through the wall leading into Sam's room before he transformed back and collapsed. Pushing himself to his feet, Danny sat down on the bed in the room and wiped the tears that started falling from his eyes away.

His mind was still on his parents' hostile reaction when they learned the truth. He could still see the coldness in his parents' eyes that seared him to the bone; he could see the weapons that were pointed at him; he could still hear his mother calling him an abomination. More tears fell from his eyes as he cried softly.

He tried to gain control of himself and stop crying but he found that the tears wouldn't stop. He always knew that it was possible his parents wouldn't accept him and he was reluctant to believe it even when the reality of everything crashed down on him like a wave.

_How can you think that ghost scum is like family to you? He's an evil waste of ectoplasm._

_How dare you, for all this time, make us believe that our son was still alive? How dare you use our family as your hideout while you wreaked havoc on the city?_

_ Likely story. He's a ghost and all ghosts are evil._

_ You knew all along about this…abomination?_

_ That abomination isn't my son._

_ He's a ghost and all ghosts are evil._

Danny felt more tears coursing down his face as his parents, in particular his mother's, words echoed in his mind. To make matters worse, he heard words that he hasn't heard in a long time; words that haunted him and scared him to no end; words that made him fear that his parents might be right.

_You don't get it, do you? I'm still here. _I_ still exist. That means you still turn into me!_

Those words were spoken to him when he had fought his ultimate enemy; they were the words of his alternate time line evil self known as Dan Phantom.

Danny had promised himself and, though they didn't know it, his family that he would never turn into Dan; he had promised he would never turn evil and yet his parents saw him as evil. _Does this mean that Dan was right? That I really will turn into him?_

Danny shook his head; he made a promise and he would keep his promise. He had to keep his promise. Dan _wasn't_ right. He had to believe that no matter what his parents said to him, no matter how his parents felt about him. He had to believe he would never turn into Dan Phantom.

_But will my belief be enough?_

Danny didn't know.

It was several more minutes before he had cried himself out of tears. He found that he had drawn his knees toward him and wrapped his arms around his legs and his face was buried into his knees. He was in that hunched over position when a cold flash suddenly went through him and he lifted his head as a blue plume of mist escaped his lips.

Unfolding his legs and standing up, Danny transformed into his ghost alter ego. "Who's there?" he said.

"Relax, Daniel, I did not come to fight," a very familiar, and very unwelcomed, voice said and Vlad Plasmius materialized in the bedroom glowing crimson eyes fixed on the younger halfa.

"What do you want, Plasmius?" Danny demanded though there was little fire in his voice.

"I saw what occurred in the park," Vlad said getting straight to the point.

"You were spying on me?" Danny's neon green eyes flashed with outrage. "But then, what else would I expect from a fruit loop?"

Vlad ignored the insult. "Listen, Daniel, I also know of your parents' reaction to learning the truth."

"So not only were you spying on me in the park but what, you have cameras in my house too?" Danny's voice began to shake with anger and his eyes flashed brighter. His hands glowed with ectoplasmic energy.

"Daniel," Vlad said before Danny could launch his attack, "no matter how upset you are over my spying on you. I am not here to fight. I only wish to tell you that I am appalled by your parents' treatment of you."

Surprise caused the energy around Danny's hand to fizzle out and he stared incredulously at the older halfa before he narrowed his eyes in anger. "What makes you think I'll believe you?"

"Have I ever lied to you before, Daniel?"

Danny was about to say that Vlad had but, when he thought about it, he couldn't remember a single incident in which Vlad had lied to him. Vlad hadn't lied to him about his hatred of Danny's father and his desire to have Maddie as his wife and Danny as his son. He hadn't lied when he told Danny about Dani and where she came from.

Vlad had apparently seen that Danny couldn't think of a single incident in which Vlad has lied to him for he said, "So what makes you think I would lie to you now?"

Danny didn't answer though he did glare at the older halfa.

"Daniel," Vlad said, "I know there have been hostilities between us recently but, in light of recent events, I am letting bygones be bygones. I am not going to hold a grudge just because of some childish pranks that went overboard."

"You not hold a grudge?" Danny snorted. "This coming from the fruit loop who will not let go of the fact that my dad accidentally caused your accident?"

"That is different, Daniel. What happened between us was a series of childish pranks gone overboard. Your father, on the other hand and because of his idiocy, nearly cost me my life. Letting go of that is not easy."

Danny narrowed his eyes not believing him. Just because Vlad has never lied to him didn't mean that he was going to automatically trust anything the older halfa had to say. Before he could say anything though, Vlad began to speak again.

"I came here just to speak to you, Daniel," he said. "And for another reason; I know that if I offered to help you then you would refuse."

"You've got that right," Danny muttered.

"So I will not offer my help. I will offer you something else; a sanctuary."

"Sanctuary?"

"From your parents, Daniel," the older halfa said. "They know you are hiding out here, Daniel. They had overheard you."

Danny bit his lip. "I thought they had," he murmured.

"They are on their way here now," said Vlad. "What do you plan on doing, Daniel? Run away? Fight back? What?"

Danny bit his lip; he hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Daniel, I know that you would never leave Amity Park because you would never leave your sister or your friends. But do you really think your parents will stop searching for you if they do not find you here?"

Danny didn't know if they would or not. "I don't know," he murmured.

"That is why I am making this offer, Daniel," Vlad said. "You may stay at my mansion and I will not tell your parents where you are."

Danny's eyes narrowed. "What's in it for you?' he demanded.

"What makes you think I want anything, Daniel?"

"I know you, Vlad. What do you want?"

Vlad's fangs were bared as a small smile cross his face. "Well, no matter what happened between us with the series of childish pranks and the incident with Dani, my offer still stands."

"I'll never join you, fruit loop. I'd rather give myself up to my parents." Danny didn't know if he really would but he found that anything was better than being forced to be Vlad's evil apprentice. After the incident with Dan, Danny was more determined than ever to prevent Dan's prediction about his future from coming true.

Vlad's eyebrows rose. "Is my offer really so bad that you would rather turn yourself over to the parents who want to kill you?"

Danny glared at the older halfa but said nothing.

"All I offered is to train you and teach you everything I know. That's it. I will even amend it to where renouncing your idiot father is not a requirement."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Vlad said nothing in response to that. He simply said, "Think about it, Daniel, and remember that there are only so many places you can run and hide. When you finally realize that my offer really is your only option, you know where to find me." Without waiting for Danny to respond, the older halfa teleported away plunging the room in silence.

Danny watched Vlad go puzzling over the older halfa's offer. _Why would Vlad offer me a place to go and yet only ask to train me in return? It doesn't seem like Vlad, especially after everything that's happened, _he thought transforming back into his human self before he sat back on Sam's bed thoughts on Vlad's offer.

* * *

Sam watched as the RV drove down the street toward her home. She was seated next to Tucker in the back of the RV with Jazz directly across from them though, so long as they talked in whisper, the Fentons in the front would not hear them. They had only been brought along so that the Fentons could drop them off at their homes while they were searching for Danny since they figured the most likely places Danny would go would be their homes.

Maddie and Jack were already discussing their plan on capturing Danny and Sam was surprised by the sheer ruthlessness of their plans for their own son. They firmly believed that their son was a ghost and deserved what they were going to do to him no matter how many times Sam, Tucker and Jazz tried to convince them otherwise, tried to tell them that Danny was only half ghost and was more human than ghost despite that.

Jazz was pale with fright and Sam could see tears welling up in her eyes. She held the Fenton Thermos in her hands and was fiddling with it as if she couldn't keep her hands still. She looked over at Sam before her voice dropped to a whisper as she said, "What are we going to do?"

"Mrs. Fenton said that they were going to talk to Sam's parents and then activate a ghost shield around the house to prevent Danny from leaving," Tucker whispered. "Maybe if we can disable the shield long enough for one or all of us to warn Danny then he could get out of there."

"Where can he go though?" Sam whispered. "His parents seem determined to capture him and I doubt they'll stop if Danny gets out of my house."

"Yeah, I hadn't thought that far ahead," Tucker admitted.

"There's got to be something we can do," Jazz said quietly. "I wish we could convince Mom and Dad that they are wrong about Danny; that he isn't evil who deserves what they plan to do to him but nothing I have said is getting through to them."

Jazz fell silent wiping a stray tear from her cheek before she added, "I always knew my parents hated ghosts but I never thought they would hate ghosts so much that they would stop loving their son just because he was half-ghost. And to think I was trying to convince Danny to tell Mom and Dad the truth. If they reacted like this when the truth was revealed to them this way then how do you think they would have reacted if Danny had told them? I should…"

"None of us knew they would react this way, Jazz," Sam said. "Not even Danny. He talked to us about how he wanted to tell your parents but was afraid of how they would react and whether they would accept him or not. I guess what happened today answers that question." Sam glared at the backs of Maddie and Jack's head.

"We're almost there," Tucker said gazing out one of the small windows in the back of the RV. "If we're gonna disable the shield then we should do so now."

Jazz picked up the portable ghost shield that Maddie and Jack had brought with them before she began fiddling with it disconnecting a few cables. "I have no idea what I'm doing but I don't think it will work but this won't be for long. We're gonna have to find Danny and get him out of there quickly."

Sam wished she knew of a way to do that without making her parents and the Fentons suspicious.

Maddie and Jack led the way toward the house after picking up the disabled, though thankfully not noticeably, portable ghost shield. Sam walked after the two of them with Tucker and Jazz just behind her and, when they reached the door, Maddie knocked.

There was a moment of silence before Sam's mother, Pamela Manson, opened the door. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" Pamela asked.

"We have reason to believe there is a ghost hiding in your house. May we come in?" Maddie asked.

Pamela narrowed her eyes. "What would a ghost be doing in my home?"

"Your daughter seems to think of him as a friend," Jack said with a sneer.

Pamela immediately snapped her gaze to Sam. "Samantha, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Sam bristled at the use of her full name. "Oh you don't want to hear what I have to say for myself," she said coolly.

"Come inside," said Pamela ignoring the coldness in her daughter's voice. "If there is a ghost in my home then I want him out of here." She led the way inside and the Fentons, Sam, Tucker and Jazz entered the house.

Sam slipped past Pamela and walked over to join her grandmother as an idea came into her mind; it was far-fetched but it might work. She knelt down beside her grandmother who was in the doorway leading into the kitchen. "Grandma, I need your help," she said hoping her grandmother would help her.

"Anything, dearie," her grandmother said.

"The ghost kid that the Fentons are going after didn't do anything wrong," Sam whispered as she heard Pamela and the Fentons began talking. "But they're after him anyway. I don't want him to get hurt."

"You like him don't ya? But don't you like Danny too?"

"He's just a friend and so is Danny," Sam said quickly.

Her grandmother chuckled. "All right, dearie, what do you want me to do?"

"Just distract Mom and the Fentons for as long as possible," said Sam.

"Will do."

Sam walked around her mother and jogged over to join Jazz. Tucker was nowhere to be seen and Sam figured he had already gone up the steps. Jazz looked at her. "What did you do?" she asked softly.

"My grandma is going to help us," Sam said softly. "She doesn't know about Danny but she knows that he's, both Fenton and Phantom, my friend and she's willing to help. She'll distract Mom and the Fentons and should buy us enough time to get to Danny."

Jazz nodded. "I hope that he's all right."

"I hope so too, Jazz, I hope so too."

* * *

The door to Sam's bedroom opened and Danny looked up as Tucker made his way into the room. "Tucker, did you just get here? And are my parents with you?" he asked worriedly.

"Unfortunately," Tucker said closing the door behind him. "They've got a portable ghost shield that they're planning on activating to stop you from leaving but Jazz disabled it temporarily. You've gotta get out of here, dude."

Danny's thoughts drifted to Vlad's words. _Remember that there are only so many places you can run and hide._ He gritted his teeth because, though he didn't want to believe it, he knew that Vlad was right especially if his parents were determined to find him.

"I don't know where to go, Tuck," he said.

"You can go to my house," Tucker suggested. "My parents actually support you and what you do to help the city."

"But my parents will know that I've gone there, Tuck. That'll be their next stop if I get out of here."

Tucker grimaced as if he knew that Danny was right. "I can't think of anything else, Danny," he said before he turned around as the door opened. Danny tensed but relaxed when he noticed it was only Sam and Jazz.

"My grandma is distracting my mom and your parents, Danny," Sam said as Jazz closed the door behind her. "But we don't have much time. You need to get outta here."

"Like I told Tucker, I don't have anywhere to go," Danny said. _Well I do but I don't like thinking Vlad's offer is really my only option like he said,_ he thought.

"Danny said that my place is likely their next stop if they don't find Danny here," said Tucker. "And I think he's right."

"So what are you going to do?" Jazz asked worriedly. "Is there any place you can hide until things cool down?"

"If my parents are determined to catch me than I'll be on the run constantly," Danny said. _Unless I take Vlad up on his offer,_ he thought.

"There's gotta be something you can do, Danny," said Sam.

Danny bit his lip before he sighed. "I have one option, Sam," he said. "I don't like it, and I don't like that he's right, but it might be my only option."

"What option is that?" Jazz asked worriedly.

Danny hesitated then said, "Vlad's."

Sam stared. "You can't be serious," she exclaimed.

"Dude, he kidnapped you, hurt you, cloned you, and yet you're actually thinking of going to him now," Tucker said surprised.

"Danny, actually considering going to the fruit loop's place is by far the craziest plan you have ever had," Jazz said.

"What other choice do I have, Jazz?" Danny protested. "I can't leave Amity Park, I just can't, and Vlad said that I could stay with him and he'll keep my location a secret from my parents."

"Dude, I'm sure Vlad won't tell your parents about your location but what does he want in return?" Tucker asked.

"That's what I don't get," Danny admitted. "He said that all he wanted was to train me but that's it. He's got an ulterior motive, I'd be stupid to think he didn't, but I don't know what it is. But, though I hate it say it, Vlad's place is my only option."

"I don't like this, Danny," Sam said. "But, I hate to admit it too, I think you're right." She shook her head and Danny could see worry in her violet eyes.

"If you do go to Vlad's then you have to stay in contact with us," Jazz said firmly. "Fenton Phones, regular phones, doesn't matter; just keep in contact with us. I'm going to continue to try to convince Mom and Dad that they're wrong about you. If I do then maybe you can come back."

"I doubt Vlad'll allow him to leave," Tucker said grimly, "but we'll bail you out like we did when he kidnapped you last time."

Danny smiled a little though he hated that Vlad's place really was his only option. "Thanks guys," he said. "I promise I'll stay in contact however I can."

"Samantha! Get down here," Sam's mother's voice shouted and Sam winced.

"Jasmine, Tucker, come down too," Maddie's voice called.

"I think that's your cue to go," she said before she walked over and hugged Danny startling him before she released him a faint blush on her cheeks. "Be safe, Danny."

"Yeah, dude, be careful around Vlad," Tucker said clapping Danny on the shoulder.

"Here," Jazz said holding out the thermos. "If he tries anything then maybe you can suck him into this."

Danny chuckled as he took the thermos before Jazz hugged him. "And I'm holding you to your promise, Danny," she added.

Danny stepped away from his two best friends and his sister before he unlocked his ghost half and the two white rings appeared around his waist and separated transforming him into Phantom. Flying into the air, Danny gazed at his sister and his two best friends before he went invisible, turned around, phased through the wall and immediately flew as rapidly as he possibly could toward the other end of the city where Vlad's mansion was located.

* * *

Vlad was sitting in the kitchen finishing eating dinner and thinking about everything that had occurred the day before when the doorbell rang. He lifted his head and stood up. "I'll get it," he told the butler who was walking toward the door. He left the kitchen and headed across the entrance hall toward the door. He had a feeling he knew who was behind it though he was a little surprised that Daniel had made the decision as quickly as he did.

_He must have realized that I was right and that my offer was his only option,_ Vlad thought opening the door to find, just as he expected, his little badger standing awkwardly on the doorstep with the Fenton Thermos on his back. He hadn't called the boy by the nickname he gave him during the college reunion in a long time since the hostilities between them started. At least, he never called the boy that out loud.

"Daniel, what a surprise," Vlad greeted the boy.

Daniel glared at him. "Save it, fruit loop. You're not surprised at all," he said folding his arms across his chest. He was in human form and Vlad could see there was a quiet grief in his eyes and his voice did not hold the fire it normally held when he spoke to the older halfa.

"I'll admit I am not," he said stepping away from the door. "I knew you would realize my offer was your only option. Come in."

Daniel hesitated before stepping into the entrance hall and Vlad shut the door behind him. Daniel examined the entrance hall to the mansion with narrowed eyes and remained silent when Vlad turned to face him.

"Yeah, my only option," the younger halfa said glaring at him but his glare lacked fire and Vlad found he preferred the fire to the silent grief in his eyes.

_ As I said before, this could work to my advantage. Perhaps I could convince Daniel that his rightful place is at my side. I understand him better than anyone else could after all. It will take time, especially after many months of hostilities and distrust, to earn his trust though but I am patient,_ Vlad thought.

"Come," he said. "I will show you to one of my guest bedrooms. Are you hungry?"

"No," Daniel muttered.

Vlad raised his eyebrows. "When was the last time you ate?"

"You aren't my parent. Stop trying to make me think you actually care," Daniel snapped.

The older halfa narrowed his eyes. It was obvious by the pain in Daniel's voice that he was still hurting from his parents' rejection of him when they learned the truth. The retort that came to his lips was _I obviously care more than your parents do_ but he felt it was too soon to say that. Daniel was still trying to come to terms with his parents' rejection and Vlad wanted to start off on the right foot with his little badger. Reminding him of his parents' rejection wasn't the best idea.

"I know I'm not your parent, Daniel," he said finally. "If you aren't hungry now then that's fine. However, if you are going to be staying in my home then I am responsible for you and that means there will be rules that you will have to follow."

"So what? Letting you train me and having to follow your rules is the payment you want in return for letting me stay here?" Daniel asked.

Vlad inclined his head. "Yes though the rules aren't that bad. You have free reign of the mansion but you aren't allowed to go into my lab without permission. You can use your ghost form anytime you want; my mansion is big after all. Dinner is at six and I expect you to show up for dinner each night. No ghost fighting—"

"What?!" The utter shock and anger in Daniel's eyes was more like the old Daniel and Vlad's lips curved into a small half-smile. "I can't just stand aside and let the ghosts overrun Amity Park!"

"I'm sure the Fentons and the Red Huntress will keep the ghosts in check," Vlad said not mentioning the Red Huntress's name to not reveal that he knew Valerie's identity.

_ Not to mention I have some influence over the ghosts in the Ghost Zone and I could at least keep some of the worst of Daniel's enemies at bay for the time being,_ he thought.

"Even with the Fentons and V…the Red Huntress helping out, it doesn't matter. I have these powers for a reason and I want to use them to protect the city," Daniel said his voice rising with each word he uttered.

Vlad's eyes narrowed to tiny slits getting a bit irritated with Daniel's insistence that he had to continue playing hero. "And what about your parents, Daniel?" he demanded. "If they attack you then what will you do? Would you attack them to protect yourself or would you just let them hurt or kill you?"

Daniel paled and Vlad sighed when he saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes. It was obvious he didn't know the answer to those questions.

"We will discuss the rest of the rules tomorrow, Daniel. Now come, I will show you to your room and leave you alone," he said and led the way toward the stairs. Daniel, after a moment's hesitation, slowly followed him.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: dang, Vlad's character is always so kriffing hard to write**

**Darth: really?**

**Blaze: yup, he is by far the most difficult character I've ever had to write. I hope I did a good job and kept him in character**

**Darth: if not then she is sorry**

**Freakshow: hi**

**Blaze: GET OUT OF HERE! NO ONE LIKES YOU! (Stabs Freakshow with lightsaber and pushes him into rancor pit)**

**Rancor: FOOD! And it's not the idiot Palpypie (eats Freakshow)**

**Palpypie: at least it wasn't me**

**Anakin: (slams flaming machete into Palpypie's head and walks off)**

**Blaze: I don't own Star Wars by the way**

**Palpypie's Ghost: what the kriff was that for, Skywalker?**

**Anakin: I don't know**

**Blaze: (chuckles) please review and I will post chapter 3 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it will be anytime soon**


	3. Chapter Three

**Thank you to the 7 people who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are the greatest and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. Reviews, as they will always be, are much appreciated.**

**Chapter Three**

Maddie Fenton wasn't about to stop her hunt for the Ghost Boy who dared impersonate her son even though it was nearing midnight. Already, she and Jack, after dropping Sam, Tucker and Jazz at their homes respectively, had been out trying to track down the ghost boy. They couldn't seem to get any leads and they kept going from one place to the next, searching every square inch of Amity Park and yet they couldn't find nothing. Even the Fenton tracker was doing nothing to find the boy.

Maddie also had to wonder how she didn't figure it out earlier. Their ghost weapons always seemed to target Danny, or rather the Ghost Boy who was impersonating Danny. Despite what her daughter kept telling her, Maddie refused to believe that it was possible to be half-ghost. No, the Ghost Boy that claimed to be her son, and claimed to be half-ghost, was nothing more than a manifestation of post-human consciousness. They couldn't be human; it wasn't possible.

_Someday, you're going to have to face the fact that you're not right about everything,_ Jazz's words to Maddie when she had dropped her daughter off at FentonWorks earlier came back into her mind and she pushed them way.

She couldn't understand how Sam, Tucker and her own daughter could actually be friends with the Ghost Boy who causes so much damage to the city and who was evil like all ghosts were.

_He has to be evil if he was willing to impersonate our son like that,_ Maddie thought but, strangely, her heart was saying a completely different matter and, again, she thought about Jazz's words to her.

"Mads, are you all right?" Jack asked breaking Maddie out of her thoughts.

Maddie sighed. "I'm fine. It's hard wrapping my mind around everything that's happened. To think our own son was being impersonated by the Ghost Boy." She shook her head.

_If that is what actually happened because that Ghost Boy could very well be your son,_ her conscience murmured and Maddie scowled before pushing the thought away. She refused to believe that the Ghost Boy was her son, she refused to admit that half-ghosts actually existed, she refused to admit that she was wrong.

And yet, there was a small part of her that was agreeing with her daughter's words, a small part of her that had cringed when she watched Phantom fly away after being shot at. She pushed the feelings away; she knew they were there because, for as long as Phantom has been around, Maddie cared for him as if he was actually her son. Learning that he wasn't her son, but rather a ghost impersonating her son, had left her furious and yet at the same time, she could not get rid of her motherly intuitions.

_Someday, you're going to have to face the fact that you're not right about everything._

"There's one place we haven't checked yet," said Jack. "But I doubt the Ghost Boy would be there."

"Where?" Maddie asked.

"Mayor Vlad's mansion."

Maddie looked up. Her husband was right; they had already checked City Hall as well as the park where they first spotted Phantom and Sam and Tucker's homes and the home of everyone in Amity Park who associated with Phantom while he was impersonating Maddie's son though they said nothing about Phantom impersonating their son. They didn't want to scare the people of the city that ghosts could do that. No sense in causing panic. They had even ordered Jazz to activate the ghost shield and extend it to go around Amity Park and, though she had protested, Jazz had done so if the unnatural glowing green light that enveloped the city was any indication. The Ghost Boy wasn't going to escape the city anytime soon.

But, just as Jack said, the only place that they hadn't checked was Mayor Vlad's mansion.

Maddie's lips twisted into a distasteful frown. She has never liked the arrogant billionaire who had tried to convince her to divorce Jack and marry him. He was a creep and Maddie had to wonder how he managed to get the position of Mayor when he was a lying, arrogant creep who cared for no one other than himself.

Still, it was the last place they had left to search.

But it was also midnight.

"Maybe we should wait until morning to search Mayor Vlad's place," Maddie suggested. "Besides, if the ghost didn't escape the city before the shield went up then he won't be able to escape."

"I'm sure Vladdie won't mind especially if such an evil ghost is hiding in his house," Jack said driving down the road toward Vlad's mansion.

Maddie shook her head. She doubted Vlad would be in a good mood if he was woken up at midnight but she wasn't going to argue with Jack. She wanted to find the Ghost Boy after all and he could be hiding out in Vlad's mansion since it was the last place the Fentons had thought to look.

_That's supposing he didn't escape the city,_ Maddie thought but she had a feeling Phantom wouldn't leave the city. It was his haunt after all and few ghosts, from what she's learned, leave their haunt. So Phantom was somewhere in the city and Maddie was determined to find him and make him pay for impersonating her son for this long.

"We're here," said Jack pulling to a stop outside the mansion. "Let's get going."

Maddie nodded and climbed out of the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle trying to ignore the sense of wrongness that occupied a small part of her as she set her mind to accomplishing the task at hand.

* * *

Vlad was still awake at midnight.

He was in his lab talking with Skulker and convincing him to leave Amity Park alone for the time being. Skulker, the self-proclaimed Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter, was fuming with fury and his eyes blazed. "I finally get the chance to have the whelp's pelt and I can't even take it," he snarled furiously.

Vlad watched the ghost as he floated back and forth in front of him. "The boy is mine, Skulker. He is no longer your prey. If you come anywhere near him then I will not be responsible for my actions." Red eyes flaring, Vlad knew that Skulker wasn't a fool and wouldn't risk Vlad's ire by attempting to disobey him. While Vlad hadn't minded when Skulker hunted his little badger before, it gave Daniel a chance to better hone his abilities, he wasn't going to allow it now that he had Daniel right where he wanted him.

Besides, considering what Vlad has seen so far in observing his little badger's progress, Skulker wouldn't stand a chance if Daniel unleashed his full strength on the hunter. Vlad could still remember the wail that had destroyed his lab in Colorado; that was an ability that Vlad never got and he hadn't gotten a new ability in years. The slighter, younger halfa packed so much power but Vlad wasn't too surprised; Daniel had been turned into a halfa earlier on in life and thus his powers grew just as he grew. Vlad, on the other hand, became a halfa when he was already an adult and thus he had already received all of his powers.

At least, it's been years since he got a new power.

Still, Vlad would rather the hunter not go after his little badger anymore nor any other ghost especially not when he has enough problems to deal with what with his parents' rejection of him and their desire to capture him. There was no telling of what they had in mind for if they ever succeeded in capturing him but Vlad was not going to let it come to that.

Daniel was where he belonged and Vlad was not going to let two fanatical and moronic, in Jack's case, ghost hunters take him away.

"Am I understood, Skulker?" Vlad asked coolly.

Skulker glowered at him as he came to a stop in his pacing. "Yes you are, Plasmius. If you get tired of the boy though, just send me a message."

Vlad wasn't likely to do that but he simply inclined his head. "And spread the word to my other allies that Daniel is off limits to them as well," he said.

"Yes Plasmius."

A _ding-dong_ sounded and Vlad looked up wondering who in the world would be ringing his doorbell at midnight. As he remembered who his current guest was, he realized he knew the answer to that question. He wouldn't be surprised if the moron Jack was the one that insisted they come to Vlad's mansion that late at night.

"You may leave, Skulker," Vlad said.

Skulker nodded and floated through the ghost portal while Vlad floated upwards to the entrance hall and, as he walked to the doors, he allowed the black rings of energy to appear and transform him back to his human self. Once he reached the door, he mentally composed himself and opened the door to find, just as he expected, Jack and Maddie Fenton standing on his doorstep.

"Jack, Maddie, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" Vlad said keeping his voice calm and cool.

"We're sorry by how late it is, Vlad," Maddie said, "but we've just discovered a shocking truth and we believe there may be a ghost hiding in your home."

"Oh I can assure you that there is no ghost in my home, Maddie," Vlad said.

"We just wish to be sure, Vladdie .We wouldn't want a ghost to hurt you," Jack said.

"May we come in?" Maddie said.

"It is the middle of the night, Maddie," Vlad said midnight-blue eyes narrowing. "So the answer to that question is no. I do have work tomorrow and running a city is not easy. I would rather have a good number of hours of sleep before I start work tomorrow. If you would be so kind—" He didn't finish his statement but the request was obvious.

The Fentons didn't move a muscle.

"Vlad, we must insist—" Maddie began.

"You cannot come into my home without my permission, Madeline," Vlad interrupted her. "I ask you politely to leave my home now."

"Come on, V-man, we don't want a ghost to hurt you and it won't take us long," Jack said.

"What part of 'no' do you not understand, you moronic blubbering buffoon?" Vlad snarled unable to hide his contempt for the Fentons anymore. They continued to insist on searching his home for Daniel and he was not going to stand for it. He may have loved Maddie at one point in time but times changed and he found that he couldn't stand looking at the woman who would condemn her own son just because he was half-ghost; he could still remembering seeing the utter hatred in Maddie's eyes through the spy cams he had in FentonWorks and could still hear her call Daniel an abomination and proclaiming that he was evil.

Vlad made no attempt to hide the fact that some things that he has done were considered evil. But, in the time that Vlad has known Daniel, he could not see his little badger as evil. In truth, Vlad would even go as far as to say that his little badger had a heart of gold. It was another reason he often got into so much trouble and that was likely what made him not to keen on accepting what Vlad did.

Jack looked confused while Maddie looked bewildered. "Vlad…" she began.

"Get off my property now before I call the police," Vlad snarled and proceeded to slam the door in Jack and Maddie's faces. He then turned around and, transforming, floated upward into his study before turning on the TV in the study that was connected to the security cameras outside his home to make sure the Fentons left.

They stood there staring at the door and Vlad could see the shock in their eyes. Maddie the Cat padded into the room and Vlad petted the cat when she leapt onto his desk as he watched the Fentons. It wasn't long before the Fentons turned around and left though with bewilderment on their faces.

* * *

_It was dark and the night was clear except for the extensive devastation that stretched as far as the eye could see. Bodies lay strewn about the floor and Danny could hear maniacal laughter. He whirled around and stared, horror going through him, at the form of his evil alternate timeline self._

_ Dan Phantom floated just behind him crimson eyes gleaming with glee and hatred. "So sorry to hear about what happened," he said mockingly._

_ "You…You can't be here!" Danny said._

_ "I still exist, Danny. I told you that before. And because I still exist, you still turn into me."_

_ "No, I won't turn into you. I promised my family."_

_ "The family who turned their backs on you, who would rather kill you than accept you, who accused you of impersonating their son, you would really continue to defend and protect them?"_

_ Danny glared at his alternate timeline self because he knew that Dan was wrong. His parents may have turned their backs on him, would rather kill him than accept him, and accused him of impersonating their son but they weren't the only family Danny had. There was also Jazz and Sam and Tucker; they all accepted him._

_ "You're wrong," Danny growled. "My parents may not accept me but others do."_

_ "Oh yes, your sister, your friends but how long before they turn on you too?"_

_ "They would never turn on me! You shouldn't even be here. You're still in the thermos. You're still in Clockwork's lair!" At least, Danny thought he was but he found he didn't know for sure._

_ Dan laughed. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not but that doesn't matter here. This is only a dream after all, a manifestation of all your sadness and pain from your parents' rejection, your feelings of anger, it all came together to create your biggest, darkest fear in your dream." He laughed and then the dream shattered._

Danny sat up so sharply in his bed that his head spun and he wasn't even aware of the scream that had escaped his lips until a moment later. Quickly clamping his jaw shut as he remembered where he was, Danny gazed around at the room Vlad had given him the night before. Sunlight streamed through the large bay window across from the bed and the alarm clock on the side table next to the bed read 7:20 A.M.

Danny laid his head back in the bed thankful that it was the weekend though he feared what would happen when he went back to school. Would his parents attempt to capture him at school? He wouldn't be surprised; they often came to the school as it was because of the constant ghost attacks that occurred within the school.

His phone rang and Danny turned over on his bed before picking up the phone. He didn't even remember taking it out of his pocket but then he barely remembered getting changed for bed. Vlad was hospitable enough to give him a change of clothes and Danny found that it was a little creepy that the clothes were in his size.

_But then, what else would I expect from a fruit loop?_ Danny thought. He sighed; he hated having to rely on his arch nemesis for sanctuary away from his parents and yet he knew he had nowhere else to go. He also had to wonder at Vlad's ulterior motive; so far, all he said he wanted in payment for letting Danny stay there was to train him and that he had to abide by his rules.

Whatever his ulterior motive was, Danny still couldn't figure it out.

_I'll figure it out eventually,_ he thought answering the phone when it rang again.

"_Danny?_" Jazz's voice sounded at the other end. "_How are you?_"

"I'm fine, Jazz. I just woke up," Danny said deciding not to tell Jazz about his dream though he still feared the worst. He was going to have to make a point of somehow getting into the Ghost Zone and going to Clockwork; it would be the only way he could confirm that Dan really was still locked away in the thermos in Clockwork's lair.

"_That's good. Vlad's not up to anything?_"

"Honestly, I don't even know if he's up. We got into a bit of an argument yesterday over his rules though," Danny admitted.

"_Rules?_"

"The fruit loop insists as payment for giving me a place to hide from Mom and Dad, I had to follow his rules as well as let him train me." Danny grimaced as he said that.

"_Yeah, he's definitely a fruit loop. Mom and Dad came home late last night. I overheard them talking in the kitchen this morning. Apparently, they went to Vlad's place at midnight last night and he slammed the door in their faces after threatening to call the cops on them._"

Danny blinked. He wasn't surprised that Vlad had done that to his father but he was surprised that the older halfa had done that to his mother. "That's surprising. I can see him doing that to Dad but not to Mom," he said.

"_Yeah, Mom sounded surprised at first. Speaking of Mom, I think I'm going to start with her in trying to convince our parents that you aren't the evil ghost they think you are. To be honest, I thought she would be the one to accept you and I think maybe I can work with that assumption. Might be a long shot but I'm going to try._"

"Thanks Jazz."

"_And did I hear you correctly when you answered the phone? You were actually up?_" There was amusement in Jazz's voice and Danny smiled a little.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep," he said but didn't elaborate.

The door to the room opened and Danny looked up as Vlad entered the room. He scowled. "Don't you knock?"

"I heard you talking and figured you were up," Vlad said coolly.

"_Is that the fruit loop?_" Jazz asked.

"Yeah, it's him. I'll talk to you later, Jazz."

"_All right, little bro. Talk to you later._" Jazz hung and Danny put the phone before folding his arms across his chest as he looked at the older halfa.

"I do believe we should continue our discussion from last night now that you have had time to calm down," Vlad said sitting down in the chair in the room.

"The rules of course," Danny said with a snort. "I can use my ghost form whenever I want, I can't go into your lab, I have to show up to dinner every night and no ghost fighting."

"Those are the basic rules yes," Vlad said. "Another thing I believe you should be aware of, your parents extended their ghost shield to cover the entire city. Already, people are talking about it and about why your parents would do such a thing."

"So they said nothing about who I was?" Danny asked. He decided that if he was going to stay with Vlad then he may as well try to be civil. He may not like the older halfa but Vlad was the only one who was able to keep his whereabouts hidden from his parents.

"I doubt they will announce your secret because they refuse to believe that you and Danny Phantom are the same person," said Vlad.

Danny felt the familiar feelings of sadness and rejection go through him and, again, his thoughts went to his dream. The sudden urge to find Clockwork and confirm whether Dan was still safely hidden away even though he was haunting Danny's dreams and his words had chosen a rather particular moment to reenter Danny's mind went through him. It was possible he was only being paranoid but he would rather know for sure that Dan was still locked up than continue to worry about whether he was locked up or not.

He had enough problems without having to deal with yet another one.

"Vlad," Danny said, "there's something I need to do."

Vlad's eyebrows rose. "And what would that be, little badger?"

Danny ignored the nickname. "I have to speak to someone in the Ghost Zone. I shouldn't take too long but you said I need permission to enter your lab."

"Who are you going to speak to?"

Danny bit his lip. He didn't want to tell Vlad about Clockwork, he really didn't, but he didn't know if Vlad would give his permission if he didn't. _I can't tell him about Clockwork though, _he thought. "Just someone," he said.

"Unless you tell me who it is you're going to talk to, you do not have permission to enter my lab," Vlad said.

Danny scowled glaring at the older halfa. "It shouldn't even take that long," he snapped.

"Yes but you do have many enemies in the Ghost Zone. As you are my responsibility, I am not letting you enter the Ghost Zone unless you tell me where you are going."

"Fine then I just won't go." Danny folded his arms across his chest and sulked.

Vlad shook his head muttering "teenagers" under his breath before he said out loud, "I know that it will take time for you learn to trust me…"

"As if that would ever happen."

"…but trust does go both ways. Besides, it would be easier to train you if I had your trust."

"You haven't exactly given me any reason to trust you, Vlad," Danny retorted.

Vlad blinked. "That is true," he said, "but I am willing to let bygones be bygones as I told you yesterday. You may not trust me yet especially with the identity of whoever you want to talk to but perhaps that will come with time. For right now, why don't we simply call a truce and go from there?"

Danny hesitated then nodded slowly. "All right, fine." _I don't have much choice anyway,_ he thought.

"Breakfast should be ready soon if you would like to join me. If not then just come down whenever you get hungry," Vlad said before he stood up and left the room.

Danny watched him go before turning his gaze to the bay window, his thoughts drifted to Dan's words and his dream and he had to fight to push the flutter of fear that went through him.

_Vlad may not have given me permission to enter his lab but I have to know, I have to know if Dan is still contained. But I don't know of what Vlad would do if he finds out I broke one of his rules on my first day here. Can I risk it?_

Danny knew that Vlad wouldn't' kick him out; he's been after Danny since he first learned Danny was a halfa and Danny doubted that he would let go him that easily. But that didn't meant he wouldn't use other means to punish Danny for breaking his rules; after all, the terms of the deal where Danny's whereabouts would be hidden from his parents so long as he let Vlad trained him and obeyed his rules.

Danny took a deep breath. _Maybe I am just being paranoid. I should just let it go,_ he thought but, as he showered, got changed and went down to the kitchen to grab something to eat, he found he couldn't get his dream or Dan's words out of his mind.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was chapter 3**

**Darth: I liked it**

**Blaze: so did I**

**Freakshow: I hated it**

**Danny: why do you always show up here? We don't like you (slams flaming machete in Freakshow's head)**

**Freakshow's Ghost: ow!**

**Dan: hi**

**Sam: (sucks Dan into thermos) no one likes you either**

**Vlad: thank goodness it's not me**

**Danny: nah, the thermos is for **_**powerful**_** ghosts. You're just a fruitloop**

**Vlad: (glares furiously at Danny) I AM NOT A FRUITLOOP!**

**Jazz: (hits Vlad with baseball bat) yes you are**

**Vlad: ow!**

**Darth: what's going to happen in the next chapter?**

**Blaze: you'll just have wait and see**

**Darth: I hate when you say that**

**Blaze: (laughs) please review and I will post chapter 4 as soon as I possibly can though I doubt it will anytime soon because of college work and stuff like that**


	4. Chapter Four

**Thank you to the 5 people who reviewed the last chapter (and thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters to help me get 22 reviews). Here is chapter 4 and I hope that you like it. Reviews, as they always are, are much appreciated.**

**Chapter Four**

Sam was glad that it was the weekend. Usually she would have spent the weekend with Danny and Tucker hunting ghosts but, after everything that had just happened, Sam didn't know what to do. She wasn't even sure how Danny was since she hasn't had a chance to call him and she hoped that he was all right. Being forced to live with his archenemy probably wasn't that great but Sam understood that it was better than being on the run or being forced to leave the city. The ghost shield that surrounded Amity Park would prevent him from leaving the city anyway.

Sam shook her head. She was unsure of what Maddie and Jack Fenton hoped to accomplish with the ghost shield. Based on the poll that was taken after the incident with Pariah Dark earlier in the year, over sixty percent of the city supported Danny Phantom and Sam doubted that they would agree to what was happening. After Danny saved everyone from the ghost king, the majority of Amity Park began seeing him as the hero he was trying to be.

Sam had to wonder if that would change should Danny disappear. The ghost shield would prevent ghosts outside the shield from getting in, just as it would prevent Danny from getting out, but the portal in the basement of FentonWorks was still a gateway for the ghosts still within the Ghost Zone. That meant that it was possible for ghosts to still attack the city and, without Danny Phantom to protect the city, Sam didn't know what would happen.

Sure, Valerie and the Fentons would help but Sam knew that her friend, with his hero complex, wouldn't like sitting on the sidelines unable to help because his parents were after him.

By the time Sam returned to her room after lunch with her parents, who were attempting to tell her that she couldn't be friends with Danny anymore, she was more irritated with her parents than she usually was._ Who are they to decide who I should be friends with?_ She thought with a shake of her head as she fell onto her bed.

Pulling out her phone, Sam decided that now would be a good time to call her friend. She dialed Danny's number and waited as the phone rang but it wasn't long before her secret crush's familiar voice sounded on the other end. "_Hey Sam,_" Danny said.

"Hey Danny, how are you?" Sam asked.

"_I'm fine, Sam. What's up?_"

Sam sighed. "Mom and Dad are trying to convince me to stop being friends with you, well half of you anyway," she said irritation coloring her voice.

"_And I take it you're told them that you weren't going to,_" Danny said matter-of-fact.

"Of course, Danny. No matter what my parents say, you'll always be my friend," Sam said.

"_Thanks Sam._"

"_Daniel, I would rather get started. You can talk to your girlfriend later,_" Vlad's familiar voice sounded in the background.

"_She's not my girlfriend,_" Danny protested.

_I'm not his girlfriend,_ Sam thought.

"_Fine, friend, either way, get off the phone so that we can begin._"

"_Whatever fruitloop._"

"_As of right now, I'm adding another rule; no calling me a fruitloop while you're staying here._"

Sam was pretty sure her friend was scowling. "_Fine, Plasmius. I gotta go, Sam. I'll talk to you later._"

"Yeah, talk to you later. If I can, I'm coming over for a visit soon," she replied before Danny hung up. She closed her phone before lying down resting her head on her pillow before closing her eyes thoughts still on everything that had happened.

* * *

Jazz watched from the doorway as her parents sat in the living room talking about Danny. They were still accusing Danny of impersonating himself and it was irritating Jazz but she could hear that they were also talking about what Vlad did to them. Both of them were bewildered and Jazz had to wonder what was going through their heads.

"I just don't understand it," Maddie said. "Vlad's never treated us like that."

"Yeah, we're old pals, Vlad and me," Jack said.

From what Jazz knew, that friendship was only one-sided.

"Maybe he's overshadowed by a ghost," her father said. "Maybe that ghost kid who impersonated Danny is overshadowing him."

_That is ridiculous,_ Jazz thought with a shake of her head.

Maddie seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Now I don't believe we should jump to any conclusions, Jack. It was the middle of the night when we spoke to him and that could have made him irritable. Why don't we try speaking to him again? And perhaps we should call first this time."

Jack nodded.

Jazz took a deep breath. _It's now or never,_ she thought before she stepped into the living room. "Mom, can I talk to you?" she asked.

Maddie smiled at her. "Of course, sweetie," she said.

"In private?"

Her mother narrowed her eyes but she nodded. "Why don't we go down into the lab?"

"I'll go call Vladdie," Jack said getting to his feet and making his way into the kitchen while Maddie led the way down into the lab with Jazz just behind her. Jazz was already going through what she could tell her mother that would at least start convincing her that Danny wasn't evil and wasn't a ghost, at least not fully.

They entered the lab and Maddie turned around to face Jazz. "I hope this isn't about the ghost boy, Jazz," she said.

Jazz sighed. "Please just hear me out, Mom," she said. "Danny…"

"Stop calling him that," Maddie snapped. "Phantom isn't our son, or your brother, and so shouldn't be called by that name."

Deciding to play by her mother's rules for now, Jazz said, "Fine, Phantom really isn't the bad ghost you think he is."

"All ghosts are evil."

"Not Phantom. What about when he defeated the ghost king? Or when he fought against all those other ghosts who attacked the city?"

"He doesn't care about us, Jazz," Maddie said. "He was defending his haunt, that's all. He's a ghost and ghosts can't feel emotions."

"But Phantom's only half-ghost," Jazz said repeating what she had told her mother when she first found out Danny's secret.

"It's not possible to be half-ghost," Maddie said, just like last time.

"Like I said yesterday, someday you're going to have to admit to yourself that you're not right about everything. Phantom is half-ghost, Mom. He has a pulse, he feels emotions, he breathes at least when in human form. He is a ghost, yes, but he's also human."

Maddie's eyes narrowed. "And how would this be possible?" she demanded, "since you obviously seem to know more about ghosts than me, though I have had more than twenty years of experience in studying and hunting ghosts."

Jazz ignored her mother's sarcastic tone. "It's a theory," she said, "but something happened that caused ectoplasm to fuse with Phantom's DNA and created his ghost-half."

"Nothing could have caused something like that."

Jazz hesitated but she wanted to get through to her mother and she felt the only way was for her mother to know how Danny became half-ghost. She only knew of what happened when she first became part of Team Phantom, Danny had told her. "What about if a human was inside a ghost portal when it was activated?"

Maddie opened her mouth but her eyes looked thoughtful. "The amount of electrical energy that would have been generated would have killed anyone who was inside the portal when it was activated though," she said. "Are you saying that Phantom was inside a portal when it was activated and that is why you so firmly believe he's only half-ghost?"

"Yes."

"It would have killed him, Jazz."

"It did, in a sense. It killed half of him."

Maddie shook her head. "But how could that have happened to Phantom? Our portal is the only working portal in Amity Park but it wasn't always functional and…" She broke off as if she had just realized something and she looked toward the portal stunned.

"But how…? Why?" she said confused.

"I was told that the on-switch was on the inside of the portal," Jazz said slipping one last truth into her tale before she watched and waited hoping her mother would see sense now, would see that Danny was still human, at least partially.

Maddie's jaw clenched. "So Phantom wasn't impersonating our son, our son is Phantom," she murmured still staring at the closed portal.

Jazz let out the breath she had been holding relieved but her relief was short-lived.

"Then that means we're going to have to figure out a way to cure him of his ghost-half," Maddie said determinably. "Perhaps if we take out his ghost half, we can have our son back."

"No, Mom, that's not…" Jazz began. That wasn't what she wanted to happen; she could still remember the haunted look in Danny's eyes after the mess with his alternate timeline self and what had caused that timeline to come to be.

"Jack!" Maddie shouted ignoring Jazz as she dashed past her and up the stairs to the first floor of FentonWorks.

_Oh what have I done?_ Jazz thought following her mother and pulling out her cell phone as she did so.

* * *

"You did _what_?!" Sam exclaimed staring in shock at Jazz from the passenger's seat of Jazz's far. Tucker, sitting in the backseat, was glad that Sam's ire was not directed at him though he couldn't help but feel shocked by Jazz's words.

"I didn't know she'd react that way," Jazz protested. "I was just trying to convince her that Danny wasn't evil and that he was half-ghost."

"Danny's not going to like this when we tell him," Tucker said.

Sam scowled glaring over her shoulder in the direction of FentonWorks. "Why couldn't they have just accepted Danny for who he is?" she muttered as Jazz switched lanes and continued to drive toward the Mayor's manor.

After what happened with her parents, Jazz picked up Sam and Tucker before telling the of what happened with her mother. Picking them up without making it seem suspicious was made easier by the fact that Sam's parents weren't home and Tucker's parents didn't mind him hanging out with Sam and Jazz. Jazz then decided to head toward Vlad Masters' mansion while Jazz explained what had happened.

Tucker knew that they had to tell Danny about what happened as well as decide what they were going to do about it considering what would happen should the Fentons' ever succeed in their plan to rip Danny's ghost half from him.

"If Dan ever got free—" Sam broke off but Tucker knew he wasn't the only one imagining the possibilities and each one seemed more horrifying than the last.

"Let's talk to Danny first," Jazz said. "At least warn him and then we can decide what to do."

Once they reached the mansion, Jazz shut the car down before getting out and leading the way toward the mansion with Sam and Tucker just behind her. She raised a hand and rang the doorbell before waiting while Tucker wondered if Vlad was even home. Apparently, he was for he answered the door eyes narrowed as he gazed at the three visitors.

"Jasmine," he said.

"Vlad," Jazz replied. "We need to talk to Danny."

"Then come in." Vlad stepped aside and Jazz, momentarily surprised, entered the mansion with Sam and Tucker just behind her.

Closing the door behind him, Vlad said, "I do believe he is in his room. I'll go tell him you're here," before he transformed into his ghost-half and floated upward through the ceiling.

A moment later, he returned with Danny, in ghost form, just behind him. A grin spread across Danny's face as he landed on the ground and transformed into his human self. "Jazz, Sam, Tucker! What are you doing here?"

Jazz smiled as she hugged her brother. "I wish I could say we came here just for a friendly visit," she said.

Danny frowned, his earlier happiness draining away to be replaced by concern. "Why? What's going on?"

Jazz looked toward Vlad before back at Danny. "I think it would be best if we talk in private."

Vlad's eyes narrowed but Danny nodded. "I think so but it's kinda hard to talk in private in the fruitloop's own home," he said.

"Didn't I say calling me a fruitloop was prohibited in my own home?" Vlad said irritably.

"Can't help it that you are one, Plasmius," Danny said rolling his eyes.

The older halfa glared at him.

"Fine, fine, I'll stop. But why all the secrecy, Jazz?" He turned his gaze back to his sister.

Jazz hesitated then said, "Because it deals with Him." She seemed to know that Danny would get it and, judging by how pale his friend went, Tucker knew that his normally clueless best friend had got the message.

"Yeah, I agree it should be discussed in private," he said slowly clearly trying to hide the fear and worry he was obviously feeling.

"I would rather not have secrets in my own home, Daniel," Vlad said.

"Some secrets are only for the ears of those who can be trusted with them," Jazz said.

"And, frankly, I don't trust you, Plasmius," Danny added.

"Trust is earned not given," Sam put in coolly.

"And you haven't done anything to earn Danny's trust," Tucker put in.

Vlad scowled. "Apparently, it is four against one. Very well, I will leave you four to your discussion." He turned around. "Perhaps, by showing you that you can trust me to, at the very least not invade the privacy of this discussion, you will see that I can be trusted, little badger." He disappeared into the kitchen without waiting for a response and the entrance hall of the manor was plunged into silence.

* * *

Danny watched the older halfa go before turning his gaze to his friends and his sister. "Maybe we should go to the room Vlad gave me," he said.

"I don't have much time," Jazz said. "I told Mom that I was just going to the library to check out a book so they're going to expect me back soon."

"All right." Danny fell silent not wanting to start discussing what had brought his sister and friends to Vlad Masters' mansion especially since it dealt with Him, the demon that haunted Danny's mind, that had recently begun to invade Danny's dreams and torment him with memories. He had been doing so well in coming to terms with what happened in the alternate timeline but, recently, that all changed and Danny's paranoia and fear that his greatest enemy had escaped came back.

He told himself, again, that he was just being paranoid and that he should listen to what his sister had to say before he jumped to any conclusions.

"So what is this about?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Danny," Jazz said softly. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I was…I was just trying to convince Mom that half-ghosts existed and you were capable of emotions and you weren't evil. I was only able to convince Mom that you were half-ghost and she…" She broke off, took a deep breath then said, "She said that if she could take out your ghost-half then she could have you back but not as a half-ghost."

Danny went white as the memory of the alternate timeline, of his decision to have his ghost-half ripped out of him, of Vlad using the ghost gauntlets to do just that, of the creation of Dan Phantom and the ten year murderous rampage that followed. Fear surged through Danny as he realized the implications of what Jazz just told him; everything seemed to be setting up to bring Dan Phantom back into the world.

_Does that mean Dan escaped? Or is another Dan going to be created? What do I do?_ He thought as horrifying possibilities ran rampant through his mind.

"Danny? Are you okay?" Jazz asked concerned.

Danny shook his head.

"Dude, it's gonna be okay," Tucker said.

"How?" Danny asked looking at his friend. "How's it going to be okay? If Mom and Dad ever create something that could separate my ghost-half from me and manage to capture me then…" He didn't finish but he didn't have to.

"If they are never able to finish the weapon then it won't matter," Jazz said. "If we can keep Mom and Dad from building something that could do that than your alternate timeline self won't come back."

"But how…?" Danny began.

"Danny, leave that to us," Sam said. "We'll figure it out. No offense but there isn't much you can do to help."

Danny smiled a little since he knew Sam was right but he couldn't help but feel that surge of fear again. "But what if He did escape?" he asked.

"Then I don't know," Sam said.

Danny knew now that he definitely had to contact Clockwork. Everything that was happening was just too reminiscent of the alternate timeline, even if many events that occurred in that timeline weren't occurring in this, and Danny's paranoia and fear about Dan's escape was starting to get stronger.

"I'm going to confirm it," he said. "I know I might be being paranoid what with what Mom wants to do to me but I'd feel better if I know that He was still locked away."

"How are you going to do that?" Jazz asked.

Danny turned to look at her. "I'm going to talk to Clockwork."

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: well, I hope that you liked this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated**

**Freakshow: mwahahaha**

**Dan: wow, that is, by far, the most cliché evil laugh I've ever heard**

**Sam: how…? Screw it (sucks Dan back into Fenton Thermos)**

**Clockwork: (pushes Freakshow into Far Frozen)**

**Frostbite: (freeze Freakshow)**

**Vlad: do I want to know?**

**Blaze: no you don't fruitloop**

**Vlad: STOP CALLING ME THAT!**

**Blaze: gotta love that the rules in the story don't extend to the author's note**

**Danny: yes! That means…Hey fruitloop, did you finally get a lonely-guy cat?!**

**Vlad: (glares at Danny)**

**Blaze: (cough)yes(cough)**

**Danny: you're kidding. What'd he name it?**

**Tucker: ten bucks, he named it after your mom**

**Sam: that'd be a fool's bet 'cause we all know that the fruitloop did name his cat after Danny's mom**

**Danny: you need to get over my mom!**

**Vlad: never**

**Danny: you are one seriously crazed up fruitloop (pushes Vlad into Far Frozen)**

**Frostbite: (freezes Vlad)**

**Blaze: (sighs and rolls eyes) someone thaw Vlad before the next chapter please?**

**Darth: (pulls out flamethrower) on it! (Takes off to Far Frozen)**

**Blaze: (chuckles and shakes head) in the next chapter, a talk, a punishment, a training session and, maybe, a question.**

**Danny: wow, very informative**

**Blaze: hey, don't want to give too much away. Please review and I will post chapter 5 as soon as I possibly can and if people can help me get over 30 reviews then I will be beyond happy.**


	5. Chapter Five

**Thank you to the 6 people who reviewed the last chapter. (I'm really hoping I can get over 30 reviews with this chapter but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.) Here is chapter 5 and I hope that you like it. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**Chapter Five**

Danny waited until it was after midnight before he slipped out of his room. He had said goodbye to his friends and sister several hours earlier and spent those hours coming up with a way to get to Vlad's portal and Clockwork's tower. He was too focused on confirming that Dan was still put away that he didn't seem to think about _everything_ that occurred in the alternate timeline.

Danny had also explored the mansion during those hours after his friends and sister left and was able to discover the subterranean lab though it could only be accessed by someone with ghost powers. Danny had explored it extensively enough to learn that there were only alarms to alert Vlad to when someone entered the lab from the Ghost Zone but not for someone entering the Ghost Zone form the lab. He figured that was because Vlad was the only one who could get down into the lab.

At least until Danny started staying with him.

Pushing the thought of what Vlad would do if he discovered Danny breaking his rules, on his second day there, Danny floated downward into the lab and across the polished floor toward the closed portal that dominated one end. He narrowed his neon green eyes as he looked around for whatever it was that was needed to open the portal.

H spotted a keypad positioned next to the portal and sighed. _Of course the fruitloop would make it password protected,_ he thought before he looked at the pad and frowned as he wondered what Vlad would put as his password.

An idea came into his mind and he frowned. _Vlad's anything but predictable but is it possible?_ He thought before he decided to chance it and, hoping it wouldn't alert Vlad to the fact that someone was attempting to open his portal, he typed in _Maddie Masters._

_Access Denied._

Danny frowned only a little surprised. That would have been too obvious._ What else could it be? Dang it, I wish Jazz where here,_ he thought examining the pad with a scowl. He started typing in other passwords. He tried Vlad's name, though who would be stupid enough to use their own name, Danny didn't know, but it was denied.

He sighed. "What could it be?" he muttered staring at the pad before a thought came into his mind, a disturbing thought and he frowned. "Oh that better not be it," he muttered before he stretched out a hand and, at another thought, typed in _Daniel Masters._

_Access Granted._

Danny stared as the doors to the portal parted revealing the swirling green vortex that would take him to the Ghost Zone before he looked at the pad. "Okay, Vlad is now officially one seriously crazed up and creepy fruitloop," he said before he sighed and flew into the vortex.

Purple doors floated around him including the one in front of Vlad's portal that vaguely resembled a football. Danny shook his head when he noticed that. "Yup, definitely Vlad. As subtle as a flying mallet," he said before he turned around and headed toward where Clockwork's tower was located.

Surprisingly, Vlad's fears about his enemies were unfounded because Danny was met with no resistance on his way to the time ghost's lair with the exception of the Box Ghost appearing out of nowhere and dealing with Klemper who had apparently left his lair in the hopes of, yet again, trying to find a friend.

"Will you be my friend?!" Klemper said.

"No but, ah, Technus and Skulker said that they would love to be your best friend," Danny said with a grin as he thought about the look on the technology ghost's face when Klemper latched onto him. It wasn't enough to pay the technology ghost back for forcing him to reveal his secret to his parents but it was something. As for the last part, Danny couldn't help it. It would be hilarious to see Skulker's reaction to this.

When Klemper flew off to find Technus and Skulker, Danny took off at high speeds to Clockwork's tower.

Reaching the tower, he could hear the tick-tock of the many clocks within the tower. Landing, he made his way forward looking around though he knew that Clockwork knew that he was there. The doors to the tower opened and Danny floated in before making his way to the room where he was sure he would find the time ghost.

As he expected, the time ghost was there. Currently in his young adult form, Clockwork was floating in front of the mirror in which he watched the timestream. He was a pale-skinned ghost with crimson eyes dressed in a purple robe with a clock in his chest as well as on the staff he always carried with him. He turned as Danny floated into the room.

"Hello Danny," he greeted him in that calm voice of his.

"Clockwork," Danny said. "I have to ask you something."

"You wish to know if He is still locked up." It wasn't a question but Danny nodded anyways.

"I think I might just be being paranoid, Clockwork," he said running a hand through his snowy-white hair, "but I guess I just started remembering what He said to me during our battle and then a bunch of dreams. I mean, why would I be thinking about Him?"

Clockwork simply looked at him. "What did your parents tell you and call you before you were forced to flee, Danny?" He already knew the answer but Danny answered him anyway.

"They called me an abomination and said that I was evil," he said softly.

"And are you sure that did not influence your thinking?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he realized that Clockwork was right. He had been paranoid. He remembered what Jazz told him about what his parents were planning on doing and looked up. "But what about what my parents want to do to me? If they take my ghost half from me then…?"

"Who else was present when Dan Phantom was created, Danny?" Clockwork said in a patient tone as he shifted into an elderly version of his young adult self.

Danny looked up eyes wide as he realized what Clockwork was trying to tell him. "I had completely forgotten about that," he whispered. "Dan can't come into existence unless my ghost half merges with Vlad's evil half."

"Yes and there is another thing that stops Dan Phantom from coming back into existence. Do you remember what that was?"

An image of the Nasty Burger's explosion came back into Danny's mind and he sank to the ground as he realized he had been so paranoid because of his dreams and his parents calling him evil and an abomination that he completely forgot about everything that led to Dan coming into existence or being freed.

"Your emotions blinded you to the facts of what happened then, Danny," Clockwork said gently. "You were so concerned with what your parents called you and told you that you failed to remember how your alternate timeline self came into existence. However, I can tell you that He is still in confinement Danny."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he looked up at the time ghost. "So, uh, I came over here for no reason, huh?" he said.

"No, everything is the way it's supposed to be." Clockwork shifted into the form of a baby. "It is time for you to head back, Danny, but before you go, I have something else to tell you. There will come a time in the near future when you will need help, you will know when the time comes. When that time comes, seek out Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen."

"Frostbite? Far Frozen?" Danny looked at the time ghost confused.

"You will know when the time is right, Danny. Now I do believe it is time you returned." Clockwork waved his time staff and a portal appeared above the mirror he constantly watched.

Figuring it would take him directly back to Vlad's lab, Danny stood up before floating over to the portal. "Thank you, Clockwork," he said softly before he flew through the portal.

* * *

"You're meddling again."

Clockwork, shifting into his young adult form, willed himself to be patient as he turned around and the Observant floated into the room. He was a green-skinned floating eyeball for lack of a better description. "I have done nothing of the sort," he said calmly. "Everything is the way it's supposed to be."

The Observant floated forward looking through the mirror. "There is no telling how this will affect his future," he said. "You should not have meddled."

"You were the one that asked me to meddle when it came to that particular future as for the other time, I simply allowed him a chance to figure out the solution himself without telling him and this time, I simply gave him information he needs that he would not have gotten otherwise."

"I do hope you are doing the right thing, Clockwork," the Observant murmured.

"I know I am but then I know everything. Now then, I have work to get back to. Would you be so kind as to observe the door?"

The Observant floated away though Clockwork was sure he was irritated. He had a tendency to make the Observants irritated but his bosses were annoying constantly bugging him when he was trying to get work done. It wasn't as if he didn't know Danny Phantom would be coming by just as it wasn't as if he didn't know the repercussions of the young half-ghost's visit.

Turning to look back at the mirror as he shifted into his baby form, Clockwork went back to watching the many possible timestreams that may or may not occur.

* * *

Danny landed in the middle of Vlad's lab and turned around to use the keypad to close the ghost portal. Clockwork's portal had deposited him in the middle of the lab but Vlad's portal was still open. He didn't know if Clockwork's portal triggered any of the alarms that Vlad had around his portal though and he wondered if he had actually gotten away with it.

"And where have you been?'

Or not.

Danny cringed and turned to find Vlad, in ghost form, floating behind him with his arms folded across his chest, his lips in a frown and his eyes cold. The only thought going through his mind was _I'm dead._

"Daniel, where have you been?" Vlad asked again arms still crossed over his chest.

Danny looked toward the clock in the lab and saw, to his surprise, that his meeting with Clockwork hadn't been that long. Only fifteen minutes had passed since he went into the portal.

When he didn't answer, Vlad floated forward. "You went to visit that friend of yours, didn't you?" Though it was phrased as a question, Danny was positive Vlad already knew the answer to that question.

He sighed knowing that if he tried to lie then it would be worse especially when it came to Vlad. He still wasn't sure what Vlad would do to him for breaking one of his rules but he decided not to think about that at the moment.

"Yeah, I did," he admitted.

Vlad looked a little surprised, probably because Danny had admitted to it, before his eyes narrowed as he drifted over the remaining feet that separated them. There wasn't any way Danny could get around Vlad; if he tried to get past him then he wouldn't put it past Vlad to duplicate himself, which was one of his powers that he was still having some trouble with.

"Wasn't one of my rules that you weren't allowed in my lab without permission?" Vlad said coolly.

Danny mirrored Vlad's position. "I just went to speak to them," he said. "It wasn't that big of a deal. I didn't even get stopped or attacked on the way." Getting attacked by Klemper and the Box Ghost did not count.

"You still disobeyed me only a day after you said you would obey my rules in return for providing you with a place to stay away from your parents," Vlad said.

"You wouldn't have let me go unless I told you who I was gonna talk to, Vlad," Danny said. "And I don't trust you enough to tell you about him but I needed to talk to him." He held Vlad's gaze though, on the inside, he was worried.

Despite holding his gaze, he was unprepared for the jolt of electricity that went through him and sent him to his knees. He gasped before glaring up at Vlad who lowered his hand and said, "Think of that as a warning for whenever you break my rules."

Danny really should have expected that from the fruitloop; he didn't seem to have a problem with tossing Danny around or electrocuting him when they fought after he rejected his offer during the reunion. He still glared at the fruitloop though muttering, "Crazy fruitloop" under his breath.

Thankfully, either Vlad didn't hear him or chose not to respond to his words, for he didn't do anything. "It's time for you to go to bed Daniel. It's almost one in the morning and we do have training tomorrow as well as a meeting with your teacher."

"My teacher?" Danny echoed.

"Lancer," said Vlad. "I wish to speak to him to explain the situation and take you out of Casper High. You'll be home-schooled from now on."

"Don't tell me you're going to teach me," Danny said.

"Of course not. I already have my hands full running this city, training you and keeping your parents from finding you. I will find a suitable tutor to home school you. Just leave everything to me, Daniel. Go to bed now."

Danny got to his feet ignoring Vlad's offered hand before floating upward through the ceiling and toward his room. Once in his room, he let the rings wash over him and walked over to his bed.

* * *

"Hey Princess!"

Jazz did her best to ignore her father's booming voice as well as the knock on the door. She had taken to giving her parents the silent treatment since her failed attempt at convincing her mother to accept Danny as he is. Only two days had gone by since Danny was forced to leave their home; school had let out and Sam and Tucker had decided to head over to Vlad's mansion to visit Danny and see why he wasn't in school while Jazz decided to stay at home and see if she could figure out what her parents had planned so that she Sam and Tucker could figure out a way to sabotage it.

Jack knocked again. "Jazzykins, your mother and I are going shopping. Wanna come with?"

Knowing she would have to reply, Jazz said, "No, I have a test to study for. It's really important."

"All right." Jack sounded disappointed. A moment later, his heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs before the doors opened and closed. Jazz pulled out her phone and dialed Sam's number.

"Have you reached Vlad's place yet?" Jazz asked when Sam answered.

"_We got a bit sidetracked. The Box Ghost got out of the ghost zone again. Good thing Tuck had a Fenton thermos with him. We just pulled up. So what's up Jazz?_"

"Mom and Dad are gone," Jazz said. "I'm going down to the lab to see if they've come up with anything that even remotely resembles something that could take Danny's ghost half from him."

"_All right. Let us know if you find anything,_" Sam said.

"I will." Jazz hung up before getting to her feet, grabbing a Fenton thermos and walking out of her room. She headed down the stairs and toward her parents' lab. The lab was in a disarray with weapons and pieces of weaponry lying everywhere though one of the computers was on. Jazz wandered around the lab keeping an eye on the portal just in case any ghosts escaped before she noticed the blueprints.

They were on one of the lab tables though it was obvious they weren't finished. Peering at them, Jazz noticed they seemed to be gauntlets or perhaps claws. She couldn't exactly be sure but she didn't like it. _Well, it doesn't look finished so maybe they haven't figured out a way to get it to work,_ Jazz thought. _So at least there's that._

Jazz resolved to try to get more information out of her father about the invention, pretend to be interested in the hope that it will help her figure out what the new invention did and warn her brother.

* * *

Danny grunted when he collided with the wall and he fell to his knees before he quickly got to his feet and quickly created a dome of ectoenergy to catch the ectoplasmic beams Vlad tossed at him. He lifted his head still holding the shield as Vlad stopped the beams.

"You've taught yourself much in the last several months," he said. "Though you could've learned all this quicker had you joined me."

"Well, if you weren't such a fruitloop at our first meeting, I might have considered it," Danny retorted.

Vlad glared at him. "I told you to not call me that," he growled.

"Sorry," Danny said not really meaning it.

Vlad glared at him but apparently decided to let that pass. "Your tutor will be here any minute now. I suggest you get ready to meet her."

"Her?"

"Yes and she doesn't know you're a halfa nor does she know the entire truth. I only told her that I was watching over you for the time being but I did not want you attending Casper High. I have a meeting to attend so you'll be here alone after your tutor leaves. I've placed alarms on the lab to alert me if you attempt to enter the lab again and they will repel you. Understand?'

"Yeah, whatever."

"When I get back, we'll work on your duplication since that seems to be one of the powers you're having a lot of problems with."

Danny glared at him. "You make it look easy," he muttered.

"Comes with experience, little badger." Without waiting for Danny to respond, Vlad floated out of the training room.

Sighing, Danny floated after him just as his phone rang and he floated over to where he had left it in the room. He picked it up before answering it. "Hello?"

"_Hey Danny,_" Sam said.

Danny smiled a little. "Hey Sam, any news?" Sam had told him the day before about the plans Jazz found in his parents' lab. The way she described what his parents were trying to build, it greatly resembled the gauntlets that Vlad had used on him in the alternate timeline. The only thing that kept Danny from panicking was Clockwork reminding him that Dan couldn't come into existence without Vlad being present and without everyone Danny cared about dying.

"_Nothing new. Your parents are finding problems with their newest invention and they've been distracted by the ghosts that have left the portal._"

"Any tough ones?" Danny asked floating out of the training room and transforming before walking to the top of the stairs.

"_Not really, there was the Box Ghost and Klemper. Oh and Skulker. He was irritated and kept attacking Klemper_."

Danny chuckled as he remembered sending Klemper to 'be friends' with Skulker as well as Technus though it would appear Technus hasn't escaped the Ghost Zone yet. "Yeah, that might have been my fault. When I went to visit…uh…someone, I ran into Klemper and, to get him away from me, I told him that Skulker wanted to be his best friend. I said the same thing about Technus to get him back a little for forcing me to reveal my secret."

"_You didn't?_" Tucker's voice laughed in the background. "_Dude, Skulker's gonna kill you_."

"You know, I just realized the benefits of staying with Vlad," Danny said with a grin. "Do you really think Vlad would let Skulker kill me?"

"_Good point_."

"_So what did he say?_" Sam asked. Danny knew who she was referring to.

"He said that He is still locked away and that I was only being paranoid because I forgot that some things had to happen in order for Him to be freed for that matter."

"_Well at least there's that but we're still going to do what we can to get rid of your parents' newest invention,_" Sam said.

"_I'm still trying to come up with a way to convince Mom and Dad to accept you as you are, Danny,_" Jazz's voice said. "_But they're stubborn._"

Danny sighed. He knew that they were but he wished that his parents would just accept him as he is rather than try to get rid of his ghost half; his ghost half had become a part of him and he found that he wouldn't feel complete without his ghost half.

"Well, keep me informed if you can."

"Daniel, your tutor's here," Vlad said as he stepped out of his study and nearly scared Danny out of his skin.

He glared at the older halfa.

"_So you finally get to meet your tutor?_" Sam said. Danny had told them about how he would be home-schooled for the time being. Vlad being mayor certainly had its advantages in that he was able to get Danny home-schooled. Danny didn't exactly approve of Vlad's use of overshadowing though.

"_I hope she's a good one. Now that you will not be going to an actual school, you will need someone who can help you with all of your subjects especially English and math,_" Jazz said.

Danny rolled his eyes. "I've been getting better at English when a stupid ghost didn't attack during that class," he said.

"_Still._"

A boom sounded in the background and Jazz sighed. "_Dad blew up something again,_" she said.

"Hopefully himself," Vlad muttered hearing Jazz's words.

Danny kicked Vlad as hard as he could in the shin and he, scowling, sent a jolt of electricity through Danny before making his way down the stairs and into the foyer below.

"_We'll talk to you later, Danny. Oh and people are starting to question where you, as Phantom, are._"

"They are?"

"_Yeah including Paulina._"

Danny grimaced. He had stopped liking Paulina a while earlier. "Well, I can't do anything about that. Vlad won't let me fight ghosts anymore and Mom and Dad are still after me," he said.

"_Yeah, hopefully Jazz can get that to change_," Sam said.

"Yeah, hopefully," Danny said doubtfully. "I think I've kept my tutor waiting long enough though so I'll talk to you guys later. Keep me updated on everything."

"_Will do, Danny_," Tucker said and Danny shut the phone before slipping it into his pocket and making his way into the foyer to meet his tutor.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was chapter 5 and, once again, Vlad's character is hard to write**

**Darth: I liked it**

**Blaze: I liked the conversation with Clockwork best. Clockwork is one of my all time favorite _Danny Phantom_ characters**

**Vlad: what about me?**

**Blaze: you're my favorite villain**

**Danny: who is your favorite character that's not a villain?**

**Blaze: it's a tie between you, Clockwork and Sam though I also like Tucker but he's fourth on the list**

**Freakshow: what about me?**

**Blaze: for the billionth time. I DON'T LIKE YOU!**

**Clockwork: (bashes Freakshow upside head with staff and pushes him into Sarlacc pit)**

**Blaze: I don't own Star Wars by the way**

**Sarlacc: FOOD! (Eats Freakshow)**

**Vlad: well, at least it's not me**

**Frostbite: (freezes Vlad)**

**Blaze: will you stop doing that? It took Dad three weeks to thaw him out last time**

**Frostbite: sorry**

**Darth: hey, this means I get to do this again (pulls out flamethrower and goes to thaw out Vlad)**

**Blaze: (laughs) please review and I will post chapter 6 as soon as I possibly can**


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